In September, No False Solutions PA and the Better Path Coalition co-authored the following brief on Carbon Capture and Storage (CCS). It was a follow up to a series of position statements No False Solutions PA had sent to Governor Shapiro and legislators to express our opposition to a bill that would open the Carbon Capture and Storage in PA. We argued that too little is known about the technology to risk the health and safety of Pennsylvanians and the environment. Nevertheless, the bill, SB831 introduced by Senator Gene Yaw, passed and was signed into law by Governor Shapiro as Act 87 in July.
The legislature had passed the bill in a late-night vote the same night it voted on the state budget. They were the last votes before the legislators’ summer break. When they returned in September, we presented them with our brief that takes a different slant on the issue by looking at everything we do know about CCS, arguing that it makes a compelling case against acting on the bill they passed.
Too Infrequently Asked Questions About Carbon Capture and Storage
Members of the Pennsylvania General Assembly
Via Electronic Mail
09/16/2024
Dear Members,
We write to express our ongoing concern with the state’s interest in Carbon Capture and Storage, as evidenced by the vote on SB831 in July. We were, nevertheless, buoyed by the number of legislators who opposed the bill. It was heartening to hear some of the arguments we made in our position statements repeated during the floor debate. Now we urge you to pause before taking any further action on the implementation of Carbon Capture and Storage in Pennsylvania.
Our position statements laid out a case against Carbon Capture and Storage that emphasized how much research has yet to be done before we know about issues like site selection, the movement of CO2 plumes, a site’s capacity, and even the definition of the term “permanent”.
Much is already known, however, so we have written a brief we have titled Too Infrequently Asked Questions About Carbon Capture and Storage. We believe that the answers to the following questions recommend a pause, at minimum, on capturing and geologically sequestering carbon dioxide in Pennsylvania.
How much CO2 is emitted annually?
How much of that CO2 can CCS address?
Are CCS operations working at capacity?
What happens to the captured carbon?
Where does the captured carbon go?
What can EOR teach us about CCS?
What are the economics of capturing CO2?
Can stored CO2 leak?
What are the potential risks for leakage in Pennsylvania?
Is CCS worth the time and investment?
Our brief could have been much longer. Carbon Capture and Storage is a complicated topic.
We stand to lose so much when we are put in a position where we are subsidizing and taking on liability for a technology that strips us of our subsurface property rights, exposes us to dangerous infrastructure buildout, and ultimately fails to reduce emissions. Passing legislation does not compel you to act on it. A matter as consequential as opening the Commonwealth to Carbon Capture and Storage requires careful and honest assessment of the issues we raise in our brief.
Respectfully,
Karen Feridun, Co-founder, Better Path Coalition
Dr. Karen Elias, Co-founder, No False Solutions PA
Rebecca Roter, Chairperson, Breathe Easy Susquehanna County
Jill Schneider, Ph.D., Chapter Chair, Climate Reality Chapter of the Lehigh Valley, PA
Sandy Field, PhD, Chair, Climate Reality Project: Susquehanna Valley PA Chapter and Save our Susquehanna
Barbara W. Brandom, MD, Concerned Health Professionals of Pennsylvania
Tracy Carluccio, Deputy Director Delaware RIverkeeper Network
GInny Marcille-Kerslake, Pennsylvania Organizer, Food & Water Watch
Michael Sauers, Writer/Editor, Greenfire Coalition Writers’ Forum
Tamela Trussell, Founder of Move Past Plastic (MPP)
Jay Notartomaso, Founder, NEPA Green Coalition
Christina DiGiulio, Environmental Chemist, Physicians for Social Responsibility PA
cc: Governor Josh Shapiro
Acting Secretary Jessica Shirley
Secretary RIck Siger
Attorney General Michelle Henry
Secretary Debra Bogen
Secretary Michael Carroll
Secretary Russell Redding
Secretary Nancy Walker
Executive Director Tim Schaeffer
Executive Director Stephen Smith
Chairman Stephen DeFrank
Executive Director Andrea Bakewell Lowery
Secretary Akbar Hossain
Robert Barkanic
Cynthia Carrow
Trisha Salvia
James Schmid
John Walliser
Senator Gene Yaw
Senator Carolyn Comitta
Representative Greg Vitali
Representative Martin Causer
Read and download Too Infrequently Asked Questions About Carbon Capture and Storage by clicking below
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